Our four choices for Imperial Beach

The election issues in Imperial Beach may be unresolved perennials, but one of the races does have an unusual twist.

Marquee races are for mayor, featuring incumbent Jim Janney and three challengers, and for two full-term council seats, with incumbent Lorie Bragg and three others.

Then there is what the ballot calls the “short term” council position. We think of it as the Fred McLean successor seat, in honor of the popular lifeguard, teacher and council member who passed away in May 2009 at age 73. The council avoided the expense of a special election by appointing a fill-in until the next general election.

If McLean spent a lifetime making the South Bay better, the contest for a successor is definitely a youth movement. Brian P. Bilbray, 25, is a marine engineer’s mate by occupation, the son of the former South County congressman/lobbyist turned North County congressman. Bilbray attended high school in Virginia and has spent time since at sea, working in Truckee or living in Imperial Beach and attending San Diego City College. He advocates a renewed push for water quality and bringing back a volunteer planning commission. Opponent Paul N. Brown, 30, is a career coordinator for a college. He attended Southwestern College and is serving as a Kiwanis president. Rebuilding the Sea Coast Inn, redevelopment at Ninth and Palm, and water quality are his priorities.

Both are in danger of getting poor marks in Politics 101, leaving voters in the dark as to who they are and what they would do. At this point, we give the edge to Brown.

Mayor Jim Janney knows the issues, having spent eight years doing heavy lifting as councilman and mayor. The old Sea Coast Inn is coming down, and the city is chipping away at obstacles to Ninth and Palm redevelopment such as limited traffic access.

Janney’s challengers include a pastry chef, an owner of a shell shop and an artist/businesswoman. None has served on city boards or commissions or has held public office. We applaud their civic-mindedness, but Politics 102 teaches that starting at the top is rarely an option.

Our preferences for the two open full-term council seats are incumbent Lorie Bragg and Ed Spriggs, a vice chancellor at UCSD, former foreign officer and attorney. Bragg has served on the city’s 50th birthday panel, mayor’s advisory and arts commissions and worked hard for the women’s club, chamber, library and senior center. Spriggs has been on tidelands advisory, eco-tourism and mayor’s advisory groups. He has devoted time to enhancing Seacoast Drive while opposing the extension of vacation rentals.

We endorse Jim Janney for mayor, incumbent Lorie Bragg and Ed Spriggs for full-term seats, and a two-year trial run for Paul Brown.